Analysis of and commentary on South African politics from a liberal perspective. Winner: Best Political Blog 2012.

ABOUT

Welcome to Inside Politics, a blog designed to host analysis of, commentary on and discussion about liberal ideas and politics.

The site is managed and edited by me, Gareth van Onselen, in my personal capacity. More formally, I work for Sunday Times as a senior reporter and columnist for the Business Day newspapers.

You can email me with any queries about the site at: garethvanonselen at gmail dot com.

Also, please feel free to send me any contributions for consideration. If you would like to use any content on the site, go ahead, please just acknowledge the source: http://www.inside-politics.org

A brief word about the purpose behind Inside Politics: There exists at the moment few places where liberal ideas and their relationship to politics and current affairs are explored and expanded upon.

The site, started in 2012, has gone from strength to strength. It has made a big impact in the media (see the ‘media’ tab on the home page for some of the coverage it has generated) and it is starting to generate a significant following. At the end of 2012 it won the title ‘Best Political Blog’ from the South African Blog Awards. To all those out there who have supported it, thank you.

Inside Politics is not exclusively about liberalism – it will include a number of series designed to look at current affairs, the media and, from time-to-time, a behind the scenes look at politics – but that is its core concern: to act as one of a few central repositories in South Africa dedicated to liberal thought.

In this spirit, I also aim to get a variety of guest contributors to write for the site.

The nature of liberalism – which has at its heart ideas like competition and tolerance – is also the ideal ideological framework for a debate about those ideas that define current affairs. There won’t always be agreement on a position or analysis but only by testing ideas through discussion and critique is their full nature revealed and from there, their influence and significance measured.

So, it is my hope, through the ideas posited and debates generated on Inside Politics, the liberal cause will be strengthened and that, I believe, is to everyone’s benefit.

Thus, please sign up to the e-mail service (bottom of front page – which will allow you to get new posts e-mailed directly to you, when they go up), engage with the content, leave us your thoughts and get involved!

Comments are moderated but please give your reaction. I will aim to engage with as many (reasonable) responses as possible. If you would prefer to follow the site on Facebook, send me a friend request. Alternatively, you can follow it on Twitter here: